The families of the victims of the Berkeley balcony collapse have praised the "manner and speed" with which fellow J1 students acted on the fateful night.

A statement issued by the Irish Consulate in San Francisco on behalf of the families of Eoghan Culligan, Lorcán Miller, Niccolai Schuster and Eimear Walsh, described the actions of the students as "faultless".

"We cannot thank enough the students that were in the apartment and apartment complex that night," the statement read.

"The manner and speed at which they reached out to our families, to our consul, and to each other was faultless."

The families described their children as "extraordinarily blessed in their friends", before adding: "We are enormously proud of them."

The poignant statement thanked the Irish and American public for the outpouring of sympathy and support shown.

"We would like to thank everyone in America and Ireland for their sympathy and support, which has been a tremendous comfort to us at this tragic time.

"The sympathy and responses of friends of our sons and daughters, the wider group of students on J1 visas and the programme's sponsoring agencies . . . is a testament to their popularity," the statement read.

The families expressed their gratitude to the local authorities, emergency services, parishes and communities of Berkeley.